2/13/2016

The politic of water in Ital tarkl reveal the crii of
Andrea u
legitimac that i rocking government and compel
Muehleach
to ak how democrac can e regained.
AUTHOR

O

n Novemer 28, 2015, water
activit from the outhern
Italian region of Campania
taged a maive protet in the

cit of Naple. ome 5,000 water activit and
environmentalit, trade unionit and
https://roarmag.org/essays/killing­demos­water­struggles­italy/

1/15

org/essays/killing­demos­water­struggles­italy/
LOGIN
2/15
. Potent mol of popular
overeignt and elf­determination.
The demontration wa one in everal that
occurred in the lat few ear. thee
anner were eautifull emroidered with
golden crown — crown that mimic ancient
cit wall and thu erve a reminder not
onl of local overeignt ut of the
municipalit’ dut to protect and care for it
UCRI
https://roarmag. donning
their green.
One  one. Previou
demontration had een organized againt an
(onl nominall) pulic water compan that
manage water ervice in 76 Campanian
municipalitie and that had made water price
oar and water­hut off proliferate. What wa
triking aout thi protet wa not onl the
preence of Naple’ maor Luigi de Magitri
ut of more than thirt maor walking
houlder to houlder with proteter. the maor walked.2/13/2016
ROAR Magazine
worker from Naple’ water work proteted
a recentl paed regional law that aim to
centralize water management and et the
tage for water privatization. The
latter were part of a network of maor that
had een formed in 2013 to protet
privatization and to undercore their
commitment to the pulic and participator
management of water. white and red maoral ahe and
carring anner emlazoned with municipal
coat of arm.

that democrac i not a
 Join the movement!
permanent achievement of the Wet.
It alo reveal. a political philoopher Wend
rown recentl put it. harpl circumcried pathwa
for political action till availale from elow.
The provocativel poe the quetion of who
repreent the demo and how politic can till
e crafted under condition where the
parameter of political action have radicall
contracted and where the law itelf i an
intrument of dipoeion.
Aout
Dipla etting
AY
hop

425


MAGAZIN
Wh have protet involving maor
proliferated in Ital in recent ear? What do
FILM
  
LOG

the tell u aout law and democrac in an
era of intene de­democratization? Proteting
maor are a mptom of radical hift in the
landcape of political action and meaning.
Alread a ucrier? Login here
https://roarmag. ut alo into the
remaining.2/13/2016
ROAR Magazine
citizen. thu pitting one more
“proximate” part of the tate againt thoe
part that man Italian conider to e ditant
ecaue eholden to the logic of market rule.
What proteting maor poit i a demo
oppoed to the privatized pulic propoed
from aove.org/essays/killing­demos­water­struggles­italy/
3/15
.
The water movement thu offer inight not
onl into the profound de­democratization of
the Italian pulic phere. It can in
UCRI
NOT NOW
fact e lot.

27
million Italian — 95 percent percent of
Italian who voted that da — rejected the
commodification of water and inited on it
eing a ene comune (a common) that ought
to e governed democraticall and outide of
the logic of profit.org/essays/killing­demos­water­struggles­italy/
4/15
. peaking in union againt the empt
noie of marketization and commodification. Local water committee. ut alo the 7 percent
return of invetment legall guaranteed to
private invetor. lawer and the Catholic church
proteted not onl the compulive
competitive tendering and privatization of all
pulicl controlled local ervice.2/13/2016
ROAR Magazine
RVOLUTION
In 2011. including
water uppl tem.
Not onl did an aolute majorit of Italian
peak out for water a a common. Italian rejected the privatization of
water through a national referendum initiated
 one of the larget ocial coalition ever
een in the countr.
In a hitoricall unprecedented move. oth had een ealed
without pulic conultation  the Italian
parliament’ 2009 Ronchi decree. The
referendum alo made viile the will of the
demo.
https://roarmag.
union.

 2008. Ital ranked econd
worldwide after Great ritain in term of the
value generated through privatized aet. with the help of orella acqua (“iter
water. Intead.org/essays/killing­demos­water­struggles­italy/
5/15
.
All of thi happened at a moment
characterized  a maive government
ellout of aet: tate­owned companie
including electricit.
https://roarmag.
-
COUNTR RVOLUTION
Four ear after the referendum. It
wa from within thi national context that the
demo.” a Francican term man Italian ue to
ignal our human kinhip with water) poke
out to a: enough. railroad. Thi i the cae even though Italian
law precrie that arogative referenda
ecome law once paed. it ha
ecome clear that oth uropean and Italian
political elite have no intention of honoring
it reult. liquidated.
telecommunication and highwa had een
old on the market. ga. or partiall
privatized. the
revolution from elow wa met  a counter­
revolution from aove — one that ha ought
to kill the demo and the powerful meage it
conveed.2/13/2016
ROAR Magazine
the popular overeign ued the intrument of
the referendum to catapult itelf onto the
national tage.

The government further paed a lew of
emergenc law decree with almot no
parliamentar input — a political cientit
Adriano Cozzolino ha hown. oth ignored the reult of the
referendum that had haken Ital onl two
month efore. around 51
ince 2008. oth the uropean
Central ank and the uropean Commiion
urged Ital to full lieralize local pulic
ervice (including water) through large­cale
privatization. arguing that it
impl reintroduced guaranteed profit for
water companie  calculating the water
price with an identical method ut uing new
terminolog. and Water ervice (AG)
with the calculation of water price. the erluconi government of the time
https://roarmag. of urgenc and emergenc. thee
law and the velocit with which the have
een paed how how the overtimulated
climate of det­fueled financial market can
tranlate into a manic delirium of law­making.2/13/2016
ROAR Magazine
Almot immediatel. Ga.
Firt.
increaingl. Italian
water activit in turn proteted AG’
complex mathematical formula. Framed within the well­known
neolieral trope of efficienc ut alo. of which around 24 ince 2011 —
ome of which directl impacted the future of
water.org/essays/killing­demos­water­struggles­italy/
6/15
. The Italian government
reponded  taking a National Authorit for
nerg.

including water — a law immediatel
ruled contitutionall illegitimate  Ital’
upreme Court ecaue it ignored the reult
of the referendum.
The National Forum for Water a Common
ha argued that a 2015 tailit Law continue
a trend egun  the U tailit Pact of
alanced udget.
Municipalitie that init on keeping their
water pulic are oliged to et aide a um of
mone that equal that of planned
invetment ever three ear — an aurd
https://roarmag. while not oliging local
municipalitie to privatize. which wa applied to local
government after the referendum and which
in effect meant that auterit­tarved
municipalitie would not e ale to u ack
private hare in water even if the wihed to
do o.2/13/2016
ROAR Magazine
approved a law (Decree 138/2011) which
reintroduced the privatization of local pulic
ervice. the Renzi government paed a erie
of law that. intead created the
fical and adminitrative condition that
achieve water privatization through different
mean. Thi law further undercut re­
municipalization  oliging municipalitie to
prioritize private management companie in
the allocation of pulic fund and 
incentivizing the elling of whatever
municipal water hare till exit. More recentl and more
utl.org/essays/killing­demos­water­struggles­italy/
7/15
.

A 2014 Unlock Ital (locca
Italia) law inaugurated a round of
adminitrative re­centralization that differ
tarkl from the local “freedom” unleahed
 neolieral reform 25 ear ago under the
aegi of decentralization. the management of uropean
fund and the appointment of memer of the
oard of director and the preident of the
ATO. devolution and
uidiarit.org/essays/killing­demos­water­struggles­italy/
8/15
. The law further
forid that municipalitie ue profit made
from the ale of hare to re­acquire private
hare with the goal of re­municipalization.
A 1994 Law had promoted the decentralized
management of water  creating water
ditrict (ATO) governed  aemlie of
maor. locca Italia eek to
https://roarmag. Ital ha thu een the rie of a
highl authoritarian neolieral political
culture when it come to the governance of
natural reource.
NOLIRAL AUTHORITARIANIM
There i more. Thee maor were reponile for
the planning and licening of water
conceion.2/13/2016
ROAR Magazine
demand in an age of auterit.
Twent ear later. ATO therefore had ome meaure of
democratic legitimac. etting the tage for a water
gra on the part of the tate and it private
allie.

national and uropean fund. There. the regional preident de Luca
(officiall deemed unfit for pulic office 
Ital’ parliamentar anti­mafia commiion). top water hut­off. In
Campania.
The Novemer demontration. The onl large cit that ha re­
municipalized and democratized it water
work i Napoli AC (the Naple water
compan “Napoli. Water a Common”).
and determine price a well a conceion.
With thi new authoritarianim come the
police. or even
decide what kind of infratructural work i
performed in their territorie. like thoe held
efore. all trategic planning
and all regional.
jut paed a law that reduce the power of
ATO  grouping them under one ingle
entit (nte Idrico Campano) that will take
control of all pring. Napoli AC wa
https://roarmag.2/13/2016
ROAR Magazine
radicall contrain the role of maor. ut
in the lat ten month alone.org/essays/killing­demos­water­struggles­italy/
9/15
.
Water activit fear that thi neolieral
political authoritarianim (“The region i
acting like a little king.” a I heard omeone
tellingl put it) will e matched  the rie of
large water corporation that aim to compete
on the gloal market. wa therefore a moment in which
maor were ale to protet their lo of local
overeignt. the lamented the
impending lo of their capacit to influence
water price.

Caalnuovo.2/13/2016
ROAR Magazine
tematicall haraed from aove: multiple
viit  the tax police. the pulic proecutor and the
national anti­corruption authorit. Nocera uperiore.
In Campania.
Man maor have een an important
reource for the movement ince the
referendum.
TH RI OF RL MAYOR
One of the mot important legacie of the
referendum wa a legion of water committee
that remain all over the Italian territor and
that have acquired deep inight into the
working of neolieralization and the
procee of de­democratization that have
accompanied it. the water committee of
Catellammare di taia.org/essays/killing­demos­water­struggles­italy/
10/15
. often at the local level through
recoure to maor — the mot “proximate”
repreentative of the tate and the mot eail
held accountale ince the come from and
live within the communitie the repreent. Nocera
Inferiore. Yet not a
ingle accuation againt Napoli AC wa
proven in court and all charge of corruption
and financial mimanagement were dropped. Roccapiemonte
and man other repreent the remnant of
the demo that continue to hold politician
accountale. the Internal Revenue
ervice. The continue to e o a the
https://roarmag.

Thi i wh the rie of proteting maor i o
ignificant and unuual: their radicalization i
a mptom in a od politic where democrac
i ick.
The latet content
in our inox.org/essays/killing­demos­water­struggles­italy/
11/15
.
https://roarmag.
Maor.
IGN UP FOR OUR
HLP UTAIN ROAR MAGAZIN
NWLTTR
UCRI
DONAT
Your e­mail 
Print iue releaed quarterl. epeciall in maller town. rought
to their knee  auterit policie and thu
unale to provide for their contituencie —
an incapacit exacerated in the
impoverihed communitie of the Italian
outh where infratructure and ervice exit
in growing tate of utter direpair — maor
are oth the tail­end of a de­democratized
political tem and political preure point
of lat reort for local citizen. ut in a context of intene de­
democratization. preure on maor have
uilt up and their role have increaingl
ecome fraught with contradiction. have of
coure alwa een complex mediator
etween the power aove and preure from
elow.2/13/2016
ROAR Magazine
have pulicl walked with proteting citizen.

org/essays/killing­demos­water­struggles­italy/
12/15
. home
to Ital’ capital. It dipoee local communitie of
one of the few power till availale to them:
that of holding their maor accountale. Activit fear
that thee ruling will have a cacading effect
on the capacit of Ital’ maor to provide
even the one mot crucial utance that
human need to urvive: water.
Thi i wh the ide­lining of maor i uch a
traged.2/13/2016
ROAR Magazine
Make no mitake: man maor were dragged
kicking and creaming into upporting the re­
municipalization of water. ut a lew of recent deciion in
regional adminitrative court in Lazio. have ruled that
maor do not have thi right — a devatating
low to the little maneuvering pace left to
maor in truggle over water. Thee are political repreentative
who can till e held accountale (and forced
or cajoled) into honoring the referendum. ut that i preciel
the point.
The politic of water in Ital thu tarkl
reveal a ke crii of our time – the crii of
legitimac that i rocking government and
that force u to poe the quetion of where
political overeignt and law and lawfulne
https://roarmag.
One wa that maor have ought to aert
their overeignt i through the iuance of
ordinance that top the water hut­off
currentl rocking the countr (illegal in
France and Great ritain. Rome. water hut­off are
legal in Ital).

2/13/2016
ROAR Magazine
lie. It compel u to ak how we have come to
a point where democrac tand oppoed to
the econom and how democrac. 2016
13/15
. can e regained.
>
MOR
FURTHR RADING
POPL
& POWR
Freedom
technologit and the
future of gloal
jutice
John Potill Januar 19. undertood
a the rule of the people.
currentl conducting reearch on water
truggle in urope. 2016
https://roarmag.org/essays/killing­demos­water­struggles­italy/
DUCATION
& MANCIPATION
Academic for Peace:
“enemie of the
tate” in Turke
Franci O'Connor.
Andrea Muehleach
Andrea Muehleach i a Profeor of
Anthropolog at the Univerit of Toronto. emih Celik
Januar 16.